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Many small-business owners appear ready to pick up hiring again as soon as the economy shows signs of a more permanent recovery, writes Rieva Lesonsky. "Like racehorses champing at the bit, they're itching to be able to hire, move forward and grow their companies -- but economic uncertainty is holding them back," she writes. She cites data from Intuit that show businesses with fewer than 20 employees added about 40,000 jobs in July, down slightly from June, but wages and hours edged higher, meaning businesses are asking existing employees to work harder.

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The successful initial public offerings of Tableau Software and Marketo could entice other tech companies to explore going public. The market appetite for software companies in particular doesn't mean a repeat of the tech bubble, however, according to Renaissance Capital. Tech IPOs this year have seen an average first-day pop of 29%.

The problem with America's corporations is they've become impersonal and thereby lost their moral compass, Mickey Edwards writes. Corporate America should take a lesson from Jake's, a neighborhood fish restaurant, Edwards argues; it has managed to create a thriving and profitable business by embracing the community of which it's a part. "If any corporate CEO wants to make the switch to values-based management, I'll be glad to take him or her to Jake's: my treat," Edwards writes.

BusinessWeek profiles various entrepreneurs, looking at the motivations that drove them to start and succeed in their own ventures, and why some become serial entrepreneurs who don't let failure stand in their way.

At Wal-Mart Stores, Senior Vice President for Marketing Communications Julie Roehm and the agency she hired, Draft FCB, are out. But will the mega-retailer return to its trademark smiley face advertising logo or go in a different direction?

At Wal-Mart Stores, Senior Vice President for Marketing Communications Julie Roehm and the agency she hired, Draft FCB, are out. But will the mega-retailer return to its trademark smiley face advertising logo or go in a different direction?